Barbecuing is supposed to be hard. It should involve chopping wood, breathing in charcoal dust, and hours upon hours to keep a constant temperature from your grill. A pit master would never subscribe to the “leave it and forget it” philosophy that a pellet smoker brings to the table, right? The best pellet smoker reviews show that this isn’t necessarily the case.

Of course, there are always bargain hunters. Some might say “Why pay $2000 for a pellet smoker and then bargain hunt for your pellets?” but if you think about it this way — isn’t it like cooking with varying qualities of charcoal? Sometimes an inexpensive, less efficient pellet blend might be just fine for burgers or chicken breasts. Other times, you may want to step it up with a premium flavored pellet where whole turkeys, prime rib roasts, or a nice brisket can really shine.

Do you enjoy hassle and stress-free living? If you want to enjoy the juicy smoked BBQ ribs with your friends and family without feeling disturbed, then the automatic smoker is the top choice for you. The automatic smoker, a pellet smoker, makes for an ideal choice. Do you know why it has it has earned the reputation of the best among all the easy to use smokers? You will find the automatic features incredibly easy to use and this convenient product’s simplicity stands out.
Thank you for stopping by to read this article pertaining to Pellet Smokers. If you’re here, it’s likely you’ve already read a few Pellet Smoker reviews. As such, you’re in the process of figuring out whether Pellet Smokers are a good choice either for personal backyard BBQ cooking or as a means of getting started on the BBQ competition circuit. It is my goal to cover as much about how Pellet smokers work, what brands of Pellet smokers are most reliable, and exactly what type of BBQ end product you can expect to achieve using Pellet smokers.
Hey Pete, first thanks for your kind words. Traeger pellet grills fell off a bit quality wise over the past several years. That said, they’ve hired a new CEO – formerly from the Skull Candy Head Phone company – who brought that company’s valuation up considerably. I see them making moves to get back to their roots… aligning themselves with some of the more well known names in BBQ again. From a build quality, they’re making solid pellet grill bodies using fairly heavy steel. The area I’d like to see them improve on is the controllers they use. Right now, GMG is making great strides in claiming some of the entry level pellet smoker market share away from Traeger. This is due to a superior PID controller, advances in built in Wi-Fi monitoring, and outstanding customer service.
Wood pellets are small pieces of hardwood made from compressed sawdust from hardwood. Generally, some wood pellets made for room heating and stoves are produced using some form of binding agent like glue and other additives, which would leave a bad taste and flavor when used for cooking. However, for modern-day grilling, wood pellets are made of pure wooden sawdust and sometimes a little bit of vegetable oil to help it burn. So, nowadays, wood pellets are even better than the real wood chips for grilling.

Create delicious meals with ease with the help of the Camp Chef Griddle (FG-16). It is made out of durable heavy-gauge steel that ...will last for years. The surface measures 14" by 16". This polished steel griddle comes with slightly inclined sides for less mess and it has a convenient carry handle in front that makes for easy transport. This item covers one burner and fits many stoves. read more

The monster of the Traeger Pellet Grill line, the XL boasts 850 square inches of cooking space, which is big enough for a small whole hog or 16 racks of ribs. At around $2,000USD, this is Traeger's largest and most expensive pellet grill. The pellet hopper holds more than 42 pounds of pellets in front of the cooker, under what serves as a work space. This is big enough for catering or competing, but ultimately it is still a Traeger which means a little less than ideal quality.
This next video is great because it really talks about how solid the construction of the Rec Tec Grill Pellet Smoker is. You’ll note several times that the reviewer says how surprised he was at how heavy the lid of the cooker is. Folks, nothing… and I mean NOTHING cooks as well and as evenly as Heat Soaked Metal! That’s why cast iron is so prized for cooking ability! Also pay attention to the heat probe readings you see in this video. The one thing everyone who has used this pellet smoker says is that the Rec Tec Grill keeps actual temps where set temps read better than nearly any other pellet cooker out there.
When starting on a grilling project, it’s important to know at what temperatures should a food be allowed to settle inside a pellet grill before it reaches its desired doneness. Of course, the time it spends on the grill also plays a major role in it, but you have to understand that cooking on a high heat for long time periods can leave the meat charred while on a low heat can turn it into soft and mushy. Bought my Texas Elite 34 Traeger pellet grill last summer at Oshkosh Fly-in. Received it and assembled it with no issues. Began using it and discovered it will not make temperatures above 375 deg F. Most of the Traeger recipes need 400+ deg, so this wouldn't work. Called Traeger. They started sending me replacement parts, first the combustion air fan, then the auger motor, then a digital temp controller. None of these new parts had any effect on the problem. I have probably called Traeger 10 times, finally getting a hold of a second level supervisor named Jessie. He decided to send me a whole burner module; pellet hopper, auger tube, burner bowl, fan, controller... everything in one assembly. I installed it and no improvement. I did a time vs temp test for them at their request. They finally agreed it wasn't working properly.
One comment I see a lot in various forums like PelletHeads.com is that you want as much efficiency as you can get. As with lump charcoal, this means burning as clean of a cook as you can with as little ash as possible. Different pellet mixes will produce differences in what you get in this area, and the cooker you’re using will dictate this to some degree as well. In 2008 there were only two consumer pellet grill manufacturers. Today there are dozens. The market for these relatively expensive devices is small but growing fast. Not all of these small manufacturers will survive. Forget the warranty and ask "When it breaks will the manufacturer still be in business?" They do not have repair shops near you. When it breaks will they be able to diagnose the problem over the phone? They may be able to figure it out, but then you have to buy the replacement parts and do the repair work yourself. Are you up to the task?
One huge advantage with pellet smokers is that because of how they work, they’re all generally of a higher standard than a lot of other types of smoker. But just because you’re less likely to grab a bad model doesn’t mean that you don’t want the best, right? There’s still things to think about that make sure you get the absolute best fit for you and your family.
Purchased my grill last fall at Costco, overall it works OK, some meats like Lamb Chops are just delicious. However, customer service seems to be deteriorating as the company is having success. My kids recently purchased me an add on to my Pro 34, a cold smoker. Traeger sells this but does not support it. The installation instructions are incomplete, I was sent parts that do not go with the unit, then customer service couldn't figure it out, this went on for weeks. After getting it installed, I asked for some instructions or recipes on how to use it, there are none. The old cover does not fit now, and Traeger does not sell one to go with a unit with a cold smoker, or plan on doing so. After a web search, I found one at Charbroil that kinda fits. Also, I just saw the same model at Orchard Supply, it now comes with more shelves and upgrades which I now have to buy as extras.

I think a lot of reviewers here don't have enough experience in pellet grilling to recognize how many features are packed into this unit for the money. I'm not going to talk about the usual advantages of pellet grilling in general in this review (i.e., clean flavor, "set and forget", less ash,). Instead, I'm going to focus on what makes this one uniquely better than the other grills in it's class.

Do not confuse a pellet grill for gas grills. Like the name suggests, a pellet grill obviously uses pellets for cooking its food. But do not doubt its competence with any other gas or convection appliances. It cooks just as well, if not better. And the secret to this are in its pellets. While pellets vary from brand to brand, the best ones have more wood and less binders like sawdust etc.

The Silverbac and the Silverbac original models of the Grilla Grills come with a good build. It has a stainless steel burn grate and a stainless steel firebox with a rugged exterior. It is painted with a high-temperature powder coating on a heavy-duty steel body. The seams are welded, caulked and powder coated for a three-layer weather resistance. Its lid and all the internal components are made of stainless steel, greatly improving this product’s life.
I have the larger Traeger smoker and have really liked it but not from the start. I had issues with the heating unit but the Traeger help people managed to get my “mechanical blondness” through this and all is well. The assistance center people at Traeger weres super supportive so I’m a loyal fan today. One thing I suggested to Traeger, and all who have a Traeger smoker, is to make the grill surface in two parts so it fits into a dishwasher. I cut my grill in half allowing it to fit in my dishwasher. Easy peasy to clean now!

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We got one of these a few months back and are so happy with it! If you want a pellet grill but don't want to fork out hundreds of dollars for a Traeger.. Then this is the way to go. We have the smaller one and it's perfect for the two of us. But we have put a pork loin, 2 pans of bacon and 2 baked potatoes on at once and it all came out perfect. Baked potatoes on this grill are AWESOME. We love pork loins on it as well! We have yet to try hamburgers or something simple, as it turned winter here suddenly but it is great for what we have used it for!

Yoder smokers are named after the size of the cooking surface. The YS640 pellet smoker has 640 square inches of grilling surface. In addition, you can get yourself a removable second shelf that adds 65% to the cooking surface area – bringing the total space to 1,070 square inches. The entire smoker is built out of quality materials and come with a lifetime guarantee against burnout.

Pellets are made from different woods, each of which imparts a distinctive flavor to the meat. Hickory, oak, maple, alder, apple, cherry, hazelnut, peach, and mesquite are among the flavors available. For more about pellets, read my article, The Science of Wood. There is a pretty good forum for people who have pellet cookers at PelletSmoking.com and of course our Pitmaster Club has a lively discussion on them with many active users.
Ease Of Use – Check if the unit is anything but difficult to setup and work. A few units are a breeze to gather, and you should simply to take after the manual of guidelines that accompany it. And after that, you ought to likewise discover how to work the grill and it ought to offer you easily of operation. For the most items I have evaluated here, they can be worked with the push of a catch, so they will let you simply set the clock and temperature and forget about it.
The Smoke Pro SE Pellet Grill brings award-winning barbecue to your back patio. Simply select the desired cooking temperature and ...let the smoker do the rest. Our Smart Smoke Technology maintains a consistent temperature range to produce as much smoke as possible. That means the best flavor possible. And at the end of the cookout, you’ll enjoy the easiest, quickest cleanout system in the industry. Instead of dismantling and cleaning your grill after every use, you can pull a lever and empty the ash out of the fire pot. In a few seconds, you’re ready for your next big barbecue. And it’s good thing too, because that smoky taste is going to keep everyone coming back for more. read more
Novices: Do you consider yourself a novice with a smoker grill? If so have no shame, in fact, look at me, I started as a novice too! Realistically, no one becomes a geek in 2 weeks of studying or research. So as a beginner you must look for an easy to use smoker grill. Well, the primary concept of a pellet smoker lies in its easy to use features. Set it and forget represents the motto and the main aspect you crave, right?
The single biggest advantage though, especially for beginning outdoor chefs, is that when you’re paying this much, damn near everything is automatic. As an example, if we look at our number one choice, the Camp Chef PG64 pellet smoker, literally everything can be controlled by the built in systems, so I could grab a friend who’d never cooked anything more complicated than boxed mac and cheese over, give em a five minute masterclass and be confident that the automatic systems would do most of the heavy lifting when it came to getting everything right.

Each grill is porcelain coated, like you’d find on professional grills, for exceptional heat transfer and easy wipe cleaning. This attention to excellence is extended over the whole machine, with everything made out of heavy gauge steel and top quality material. The only real let down is the wheels, which are kind of low quality, but they’re real simple to switch out.

And of course, it’s definitely a plus when the company that makes your grill includes a multi-year warranty and top notch customer service. Pellet grills are finicky compared to gas or charcoal grills simply because there are so many more parts that require electronics or that have electrical components… which means there is a fair bit more that can actually go wrong or require service at some point.

One of Yoder’s most unique features is the Variable Displacement Damper. This makes it easy to smoke, sear, and grill your food using the YS640. This is a metal plate that moves along the lower smoke box. If you move it all the way left, it concentrates heat directly over the firepot for conductive searing. If you move it back to the right, the heat will spread evenly across the entire some box for even cooking. The unit comes with a side firebox which has a removable cooking grate if you want to grill your food in it.